Kaine Says He Will Stay at DNC

Tim Kaine, the former governor of Virginia, expects to stay on as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, he said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday morning.

“My agreement with the president is I was going to do what he wants me to do,” Kaine said. “And what I know sitting here today is he wants me to continue in this spot, and that’s what I’m going to do with excitement, you know, traveling all around the country, going through the [Transportation Security Administration] lines like everybody else, going out and being the president’s advocate and promoter. And it’s a wonderful job and I intend continue it.”

Kaine, 52, was elected governor of Virginia in 2005 after serving as lieutenant governor and mayor of Richmond. He was Barack Obama's first major presidential endorsement outside of his home state of Illinois, and the two became close friends. Obama strongly considered choosing Kaine as his vice presidential running mate. The president appointed Kaine, a lawyer, to his first two-year term as chairman of the DNC in January 2009. He succeeded former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean.

Kaine has overseen the committee during the two-year cycle that Democrats lost control of the House and lost seats in the Senate. But he is better liked among members of his party than his counterpart, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, who faces five opponents in his re-election bid this January.

In 2011, the national parties will be involved in redistricting efforts across the country and off-year elections in a handful of states, as well as preparing for the 2012 elections.